Personal Protective Equipment Transition
The Department of Health and Social Care’s scheme to provide free COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to health and care providers ended on 31 March 2024, meaning that NHS Supply Chain PPE orders must be made through the Catalogue from 1 April 2024 onwards. The last order date from the Foundry platform was on 31 March 2024.
PPE Portal – Community, Non-Acute, and Primary Care Healthcare Partners
The PPE Portal is an online platform that was set up originally to distribute PPE to eligible primary care, social care and public sector organisations, free of charge to meet demands that had arisen from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paid for PPE will continue to be available via this platform until 23 May 2024 with the last delivery date occurring week commencing 27 May. Customers will be able to purchase these items using a credit or debit card. We will be accepting VISA and Mastercard cards, but American Express card will not be accepted.
If customers have an NHS Supply Chain account (current or lapsed), and have previously ordered through the NHS Supply Chain catalogue, they will be eligible to purchase PPE through this platform via invoicing. This can be accessed here .
Following the closure of the PPE portal on 23 May, local arrangements will need to be made to purchase PPE. See our useful links section for NHS England Measles guidance and best practice.
PPE Transition FAQs
Below are three sections of FAQs based on how your order your PPE products; NHS Trusts (Acute) Customers, Other Healthcare Partners (Non-Acute) Customers and General/Other queries.
NHS Trusts (Acute) Customers
See our Downloads section to access the ‘Transitioning PPE Products Product Listing’.
PPE products which become purchasable via NHS Supply Chain, will need to be ordered the same way you would order any product available through NHS Supply Chain, for example via Online Ordering, eDC etc.
PPE products which become purchasable via NHS Supply Chain will be available through one of the three normal supply routes; Stocked, Blue Diamond, eDirect
PPE orders placed via NHS Supply Chain will be delivered as per the products standard supply route. Stocked and Blue Diamond products will be delivered to your existing NHS Supply Chain delivery locations, on your current preferred delivery day(s) and on your standard delivery media, for example cages or pallets.
The FFP3 resilience principles are mandatory in acute settings and are part of EPRR Core Standard 12. Trusts must continue to record their fit test data through ESR. See our Useful Links section to access the NHS England FFP3 resilience principles.
The ‘Transitioning PPE Products Product Listing’ has the available pricing for all relevant PPE Products. See our Downloads section to access this product listing. When products transition across to the NHS Supply Chain catalogue we will also update the relevant Contract Information Pages and related product listings.
Other Healthcare Partners (Non-Acute) Customers
Paid for PPE will continue to be available via this platform until 23 May 2024 with the last delivery date occurring week commencing 27 May.
No, the Department of Health and Social Care’s scheme to provide free COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to health and care providers ended on 31 March 2024.
No, order limits will be not applied to paid products and there will be no restrictions on purchase quantities.
The PPE Portal will offer a card payment functionality in which users can purchase PPE items using a credit or debit card. Please note, we will be accepting VISA and Mastercard cards, but not AMEX.
If customers have an NHS Supply Chain account (current or lapsed), and have previously ordered through the NHS Supply Chain catalogue, they will be eligible to purchase PPE through this platform via invoicing. This can be accessed here .
Due to necessary health and safety precautions, all PPE products are final sale. These items are non-refundable and non-returnable, unless the item purchased is broken or damaged and not of satisfactory quality, whereby we will offer a free replacement order or a refund.
If you have any issues or concerns about your product, please contact the PPE Customer Service Team on 0800 876 6802 (open from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday).
Yes, if you believe you are eligible to claim charitable VAT relief on your paid purchases on the PPE Portal, from the 3 April 2023, there will be a new section under ‘My Account’ on the PPE Portal, which will allow you to complete a VAT Declaration to declare your eligibility.
Please note charitable relief is only applicable on specific products, so please refer to the guidance published on the Portal from the 3 April 2023 to find out more.
General/Other
A pandemic preparation meeting would be held with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and other executive agencies to agree on actions to take. We have the operational capability to stand ordering platforms back up if required.
Where possible, share via mutual aid it to local trusts, non-acute organisations, hospices, and adult social care providers.
Contact your local authority and see if they have any use for the stock.
Donate as humanitarian aid through charitable organisations – depending on what the stock is, Turkey, Syria and/or Ukraine could have uses for it.
Send expired the PPE to landfill – the last option as this incurs cost but PPE ordered is that of the responsibility of the customer once received, hence the important requirement for accurate stocktakes to be submitted on a weekly basis.
For stock which has not depleted before April 2024, the Department of Health and Social Care will decide on what to do with this and we will communicate to customers on the outcome of this.
Please contact Roger Kirkham (roger.kirkham@supplychain.nhs.uk) should you have any clinical queries relating to PPE.
The majority of FFP3 masks from the Department of Health and Social Care catalogue are on the NHS Supply Chain Single Use PPE framework, so will continue to be available once the free stock has depleted. This includes 3M, GVS, Kolmi, Alpha Solway and Draeger.
Please note, Honeywell FFP3 Masks SuperOne RFFPIIIU0123 is being discontinued.
Gowns made available under the new Single Use PPE and Medical Protective Consumables framework must comply with our internal clinical assurance process. See our Useful Links to access the framework information page for full details of the products and suppliers are available.
No, as most trusts now have their own skilled resources available, the DHSC will end central funding of this programme on 31 March 2023. Trusts need to make their own arrangements for fit-testing moving forward.
Contact the PPE Customer Services Team via 0800 876 6802 (open from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday).
